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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: lash · pit · degree · bass · prune · march · leaves · capital

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. prune — to trim
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. pit — a hole
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. march — the month
  7. capital — money
  8. capital — a city
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. bass — low music
  11. prune — to trim
  12. march — the month
  13. march — music
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. degree — from a university
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. pit — in a race
  22. degree — temperature
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. bass — the fish

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com